Global geological experts and Korea Heritage Service (KHS) Administrator Huh Min pose with the Key Geoheritage Areas Korea Declaration at the BEXCO convention center in Busan, Wednesday. Courtesy of KHS

BUSAN — The Korea Heritage Service (KHS) announced on Wednesday plans to establish a "K-Heritage House" roughly twice the size of a soccer field at the upcoming UNESCO World Heritage Committee session in Busan in July.

The initiative aims to use the committee session as a milestone event to firmly cement the global footprint of both K-heritage and K-culture.

"During the assembly, we will establish the K-Heritage House, covering about 13,254 square meters at BEXCO in Busan, to promote K-heritage and K-culture to the world," KHS chief Huh Min said during a briefing in Busan, Wednesday, 50 days before the session's opening.

"Through this World Heritage Committee session, we are anticipating three major effects: elevating our national standing, promoting the host city and boosting the local economy. The estimated economic impact is 137.2 billion won ($100 million)."

President Lee Jae Myung was also briefed during his visit to Busan and echoed the importance of the event for promoting Korean culture and heritage.

"No matter what anyone says, the driving force behind K-culture, which now leads global trends, is K-heritage," Lee said. "Korea must take the lead in fostering solidarity within the international community to fully protect the shared heritage of humankind amidst the climate crisis, geopolitical risks and the vortex of rapid development."

The K-Heritage House will be the largest exhibition space dedicated to K-culture yet. It will feature 42 exhibition and experiential spaces, bringing together 33 entities, including six government ministries, 14 local governments and 13 private organizations.

Earlier that day, KHS also held a symposium titled "K-Geoheritage: Current Status and Future Perspectives" on the systematic conservation of geological heritage sites and adopted the Key Geoheritage Areas (KGA) Korea Declaration.

The academic forum featured 13 presentations from global scholars including Robbert Casier, World Heritage program development officer at the International Union for Conservation of Nature, ProGEO President Kevin Page and José Brilha, former president of ProGEO and UNESCO chair on geodiversity and geoconservation.

Source: Korea Times News